The potential for hard ground impact in an aircraft or other vehicle can lead to impact of passengers into seats located in front of the passenger's position. This impact can result in serious injury to passengers. Specifically, if a passenger's head impacts the back of a seat in front of the passenger, serious blunt force head trauma may result.
To reduce head injury in an impact scenario, air bags, upper torso restraints and seat back break over features are commonly employed. However, these devices are expensive to design and certify to applicable regulatory standards and have not proven to always perform in completely reliable manner. In addition, these devices add weight, complexity, increased maintenance costs, and reduce passenger comfort.
Therefore, a need exists for a seat backshell design that will absorb the energy of an impact to reduce injuries to passengers.